Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
18 Pentecost 30 Sept 2013
I love British detective stories, especially those of Agatha Christie. Just last week, I was reading The Mysterious Affair at Styles. It’s the usual formula–everybody in the family is gathered in the big house, the rich matriarch dies, the new will is lost, and everyone in the house is suspect because everyone in the house has a motive. Of course, the peculiar and fastidious Belgian detective Hercule Poirot just happens to be near. One of the suspects tells Poirot she’s sure the murderer is the new husband and Poirot responds: “….if Mr. Inglethorpe is the man, he shall not escape me. On my honour, I will hang him as high as Haman!”
As high as Hamman! I had just read the lesson from Esther and was surprised to find the Sunday lesson in a Poirot novel!
That phrase–hang him as high as Haman–may not be in common usage, but if you hear one of your enemies say it about you, go the other way.
The story of Haman is embedded in the story of Esther. It is the story of reversals of fortunes, of the immense violence exacted by retribution, of human lust for power gone wrong.
Here’s a summary of the book of Esther (here’s the waiver–this isn’t a scholarly summation; I just want us to get the gist of what is happening):
Esther is the cousin and adopted daughter of Mordecai. Mordecai is a Jew, of the tribe of Benjamin. He’s a 2nd generation Jew living in Persia, as a result of the forced exile of Jews, including Esther and Mordecai’s grandfather, out of Israel into Persia. Many of the exiled Jews held onto their own laws and customs rather than be assimilated into the Persian culture.
Ahasuerus is King of Persia. His Queen is Vashti. During a big festival, Ahasuerus summons Vashti, who refuses to appear. That’s the end of Vashti.
Now, Ahasuerus needs a new queen. All the local virgins are gathered up, Esther among them, just like The Bachelor Show. Esther is chosen, though Ahasuerus doesn’t know she’s a Jew.
Meanwhile, Mordecai, is hanging around outside the King’s gate, waiting for news of Esther, and discovers a plot to kill the King. He tells Esther about the plot, and Esther tells the King. The plot is thwarted and the men are put to death.
Haman is King Ahasuerus’ top aide, a very powerful man who is really impressed with himself. Haman convinces the King to decree that people should bow down when Haman passes, just as if Haman is a king. Only Mordecai won’t bow down.
When Haman finds out that the reason is because Mordecai is a Jew, he is infuriated.There’s a reason Haman hates Jews. Haman is a descendant of the tribe of Amalekites who were all but wiped out by King Saul and David.
So, Haman plots to destroy all the Jews. He tells the King that there is a certain people, immigrants, scattered among the King’s kingdom. They have different laws and do not keep the King’s laws. They will make the kingdom unstable, so Haman suggests that the King issue a decree for their destruction, which the King does.On a particular day (this is important), the 13th day of the 12th month, all Jews, young and old, women and children, are to be annihilated.
Mordecai hears this and dons sack cloth and ashes in order to do some intense praying to God to intervene. Mordecai shows Esther the decree, and convinces her to go to the king and plead for the life of her people, the Jews.
Esther does, at risk to her own life, because it’s an executable offense to approach the King uninvited. The King spares her, listens, and agrees to go with Haman to Esther’s for a banquet the following night, at which time she will ask the King to grant her petition to spare the lives of the Jews.
Haman, meanwhile, doesn’t know about any of this, and he goes out in good spirits to supervise the construction of a gallows, 50 cubits high (about 75 feet), built outside his house. Mordecai will hang on this gallows.
However, that night, the King cannot sleep, so he starts reading the book of records and reads about Mordecai who had saved his life. He hasn’t known the name of the man who uncovered the assassination plot. The King discovers that Mordecai has not been honored for his great deed.
The King calls in Haman, and asks him what to do for a man the king wishes to honor. Haman, being such an egotist, thinks the King is being coy and wants to honor Haman, so he suggests dressing the honoree up in royal robes and giving him a ride around the city square on a royal horse, led by one of the king’s most noble officials.
King likes the idea and tells Haman to go get Mordecai, and dress Mordecai in the royal robes and lead Mordecai astride a royal horse around the city, being honored by the King, for all to see. Haman is mortified. This was not the plan.
After the mortifying ride, Haman has to go to Esther’s banquet. At the banquet, the King asks Esther for her petition. She asks that the lives of her people be spared. Esther accuses Haman as the wicked person who would have annihilated a whole people and brought disgrace upon the king. The King orders Haman to be executed. Haman is hanged from the gallows he himself built for Mordecai.
Haman hangs. Mordecai is given the King’s signet ring and has great power and influence in the kingdom.
There are missing verses in the lectionary reading. I’m always curious about what is left out, as well as what is included. In art, this is called the “negative space” which surrounds positive space and often is very important.
The verses edited out of today’s reading tell about retribution, not a peaceful ending. Instead of the Jews being annihilated, Mordecai orders the annihilation of the house of Haman.
The particular day on which the enemies of the Jews hoped to gain power over the Jews is changed to the day in which the Jews gain power over the enemy.
The Jews gathered in their cities throughout the kingdom and struck down all their enemies with the sword, slaughtering and destroying them and did as they pleased with those who hated them.
Esther’s act of courage and generosity is remembered in the feast of Purim which celebrates the month long ago that was turned for the Jews from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday. It is a time of sending gifts of food to one another and presents to the poor.
Which is wonderful…but embedded in this story is a story which has no end. Today, the retribution continues. The world waits as Israel threatens to attack Iran, modern day Persia. Iran threatens to use nuclear power for other than peaceful means.
In the end, the whole world is victim of the violence that threatens to hang enemies “as high as Haman.” As long as we, the human race, are insistent on retribution rather than love, we are marching toward Haman’s gallows.
Esther’s story is wonderful. Intertwined with Esther are the stories of Mordecai, the exiled Jews, Haman, and the annihilation of the Amalekites.
The good things…loyalty, courage, faithfulness, and righteousness, do not exist in a vacuum. The celebrations have to exist with times of mourning. Gladness exists with sorrow.
Until we choose to be loving and courageous as Esther rather than vindictive as Haman and Mordecai, this story has no end.
It has to end or we will all end in an increasingly violent spiral of retribution.
We who identify ourselves as marked as Christ’s own have to proclaim an end to violence as a solution for evil. We have to be as loving and courageous as Esther, but join our voices with those of people of other faiths against policies that return evil for evil. It’s a dead end…literally.
Amen.